THE Oswestry cricketer involved in a fracas with a Whitchurch opponent, faces being banned from the sport for two years following the on-field altercation.

A four-man disciplinary committee, which met at Ellesmere Cricket Club on Friday night, are believed to have recommended a two-year ban for Oswestry’s former third team skipper Allan Morris with an 11-match ban for Whitchurch’s Ian Simcock.

However the decision still has to be ratified by the Shropshire League Committee so neither the disciplinary panel nor the committee are making any official comment on the shock recommendation.

The hearing follows a violent incident during a game between Oswestry Thirds and Whitchurch Thirds on May 22, after which the Whitchurch club declined to complete the game.

Oswestry were handily placed at 127 for no wicket off just 17 overs at Oswestry School’s ground when violence broke out which caused three police cars to arrive on the scene.

The Oswestry club has indicated it will appeal if the sentence is as severe as that being recommended.

One of the league disciplinary committee members Dave Ralphs said that the recommendation was being circulated to all the league committee members by e-mail and that it will either be ratified or altered by the main committee.

Oswestry club secretary Hugh Roberts, who accompanied Allan Morris to the meeting, said that Oswestry would definitely appeal if the two-year ban was confirmed.

“Allan should not have done it, but it was self-defence,” he maintained.

And he said that the committee did not appear to have taken into account the amount of provocation and bad language which had preceded the incident.

Whitchurch club treasurer Liam O’Neill, also attended the meeting, said that their player, Ian Simcock had accepted the 11-game ban and would not be appealing.

“All through the hearing he admitted he had done things he should not have done. However the disparity in sentence shows who the committee believed was more responsible for the incident,” he said.

Morris has already voluntarily stood down as the third team skipper and been given a two-match ban by the Oswestry club.

There will be a meeting of Oswestry Cricket Club’s executive board on Thursday with the item being “high up the agenda”.

The game was declared ‘abandoned’ with each club getting four points each.